Thursday, October 21, 2010

Testing Done - 1 week to go.

My cinnamon brioche bun with raisins, bacon and orange glaze.

So, a lot of you had questions about Edgar.I am fully conscious that I did not answer.I had a lot of thinking to do myself.

You see, I had a vision of a restaurant. Opening for dinner, maybe lunch, maybe brunch.What I ended up buying is a really tiny place, tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood, near the water and cyclepaths. There are 11 seats, all high stools. Some facing the window outside, some, well, pretty much next to me in the kitchen!

I had to rethink.I will be alone, so I need to be quite efficient. Take your order, make it, and manage the cash.For a few weeks at least so that I have enough money to hire someone.So food choices are key. I can't scramble. I can't make people wait.

So on top of all the craziness of starting a business, I had to think menu-logic.Breakfast will be a lot of pastries, 2 hot sandwiches (apple, bacon, maple, cheddar and raisin bread + breakfast burrito omelet type thing), smoothies, granola and yoghurt.

Lunch. Lunch is where it is tricky. Big salads to go. Sandwiches. Stews. Curries. I have to be able, once again, to assemble the food and serve people. I wanted original items as well as crowd pleasers: what is around is a grade school, a university, passing traffic from the government and the hood folks.

The sandwich I am most looking forward to is the banh mi. So fresh, crunchy, comforting.

I plan to open in a week. I am still debating on which day to open: a Saturday so that friends and family can come, or start an official work week and open on Tuesday... I don't like fancy openings, so one day a little open sign will appear.

The inside is almost all done. I had a few set backs yesterday... The chemicals from the hood vent cleaning 'melted' the paint on my floor, I will have to redo this weekend. It sucks. It was a long process, I had to have it dry between coats. Redo. And it seems that the cleaning was never really well done: it lifted years and years of paint colors from the vent - I had to scrape all of those away yesterday. It was so disgusting, in a way, I am happy this happened, now all is so clean.

Today I start cooking and filling the freezers. I have some visit that will make me smile and lift my worries. Don't get me wrong, I am really happy - but it seems like it is still not registering. I am still in a whirlwind of shopping, cleaning, thinking heavily, lining up my contacts for meat, milk, nuts, pantry... and it goes on and on.

I remember reading an article about Orangette, and how she was saying that the restaurant business is not for everyone, and how it was not for her... Cooking at home + food blogging is quite different. I can see how this could be overwhelming for someone who has never done it, how it all looks like fun and games from the outside.

But I like challenges. And I am not one to back down.Like the brioche bun. How many times have I started over? I have my recipe now.The picture on top is cinnamon, raisin, bacon. It will be transformed yet again though... Dates, maple, cinnamon, bacon. Deliciousness, I loved it.

...I even had a supreme taste-tester, and he preferred my apple-cranberry pie - I have to be confident and think that different people have different tastes and I will stand behind my bun, as I will stand behind all my food.

Everthing sounds wonderful and you've thought out a lot of details! The first year is hard as my ex opened a restaurant a year ago and he's still learning and growing. Would love to send you a card or flowers for your opening! What is the address? Enjoy your opening and take lots of photos! We'll want to see them on the blog!

So excited to taste your cinnamon bun (and everything else!) Moi j'te conseillerais d'ouvrir doucement le mardi...it'll give you the chance to work out any kinks and settle your nerves a bit before the deluge of family and friends on the week-end! Family and friends will want to socialize a bit...which can be hard to juggle when you're also getting the hang of juggling everything else!

I soooo love you for combining bacon and maple syrup in a cinnamon bun. I may actually drag my kids accross the bridge to get me some of those babies on some mornings!Can't wait to see the rest of your menu!Tu vas etre sensationnelle, aucun doute!! Au plaisir d'aller te voir!

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À propos

This blog started out as a diary of what we ate at home on a daily basis. I cook everything from scratch, so it was nice to have a journal, a collection of all our recipes. In November 2010 opened Edgar, our tiny café.